


Dream Job

by Angelikah



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Co-workers, Denial is a hell of a drug, Drunken Confessions, F/M, Just a guy and a gal being platonic work pals, Ropes Course Flirting, Sharing a Desk Because Reasons, Silicon Valley Startup AU, Team-building Activities, Workplace Relationship, because startups are garbage, the reason is it's an open floor plan, until they're not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-19 10:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22009825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelikah/pseuds/Angelikah
Summary: [cforbes]: You don’t get to be like, “grrr millennials are so entitled”[cforbes]: “with their GADGETS AND GIZMOS APLENTY”[klaus]: They are.[cforbes]: “And lack of common sense!!”[cforbes]: Omg Klaus. You’re like 30.[cforbes]: Shut up[klaus]: I may be wrong but I believe you’re creating what the teens call a “hostile work environment”[cforbes]: boo hoo, snowflake[cforbes]: do you want anything from Starbucks?
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 12
Kudos: 99
Collections: Klaroline Gift Exchange — New Year's Day





	Dream Job

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KawaiiKitsune13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiKitsune13/gifts).



> Thank you to Morgan, Kelly, Luiza, and everyone else who listened to me whine about this. I hope you like it!!

**Wanted: Scrappy Rockstar Employee!!**

_ Seeking a scrappy rockstar go-getter who is ready to bring a positive attitude and FUN to a fast-paced environment. The right person for this role is energetic and enthusiastic, with a knack for making people from all walks of life feel like family. They deeply care about what they do and the massive impact they'll have on company growth. They work independently, are a problem-solving superhero, and never let a single excel spreadsheet leave their desk without a triple-check. Their middle name is "people person" and they never stop until they get the job done. Free lunch, work-sponsored happy hours, unlimited vacation, and ukulele jams on Thursdays make this guaranteed to be your best fit. _

_ Must like dogs. _

* * *

In his defense, he didn't bother to read anything but the job duties, and he  _ deeply  _ regretted it.

* * *

“A  _ what _ ?"

"A ropes course! It's like summer camp, but for the company. We go twice a year. The next one is in four months."

"You’ve got to be joking.”

From the surprised look the human resources manager shot him, it was immediately clear that she was not joking at all. “We believe strongly that Augustine should feel like a family. The retreats are part of team building. Luckily, we were  _ just  _ before the cancellation deadline, so I managed to get an extra spot in our reservation when you got hired. It’s a ropes course, so make sure to wear clothes you can exercise in.”

“ _ Luckily _ ?” he choked out.

“And here’s your seat,” she finished cheerfully, ignoring his distress. “Caroline’s usually in a little earlier, but I guess she’s running late today. She's the only other person in accounting, and she'll be your deskmate. I think she sat in on one of your interviews?"

"I believe so," he said, remembering the sunny blonde who had introduced herself and then sat him down for the technical portion of his interview. She'd been personable and witty, had even exchanged an exasperated look with him when one of her coworkers had barged into the conference room, apparently not having seen the "in use" sign. He'd been told that the position had opened due to her position growing too burdensome for one person after the product had become popular, and he assumed that she would be the only person he'd work with on a day-to-day basis. Apparently he'd been correct. 

"She’ll be a great resource for you while you’re acclimating. It’s an open floor plan, so that'll help you get to know your coworkers! Sometimes the noise can carry though, so I'll make sure you get some noise-cancelling company headphones when our swag shipment comes in next week!”

He wasn't sure whether he hated the words 'swag shipment' or 'get to know your coworkers' more. He was already deeply regretting moving to Silicon Valley at all, let alone applying for or taking the job.

“Right."

“Great! So that’s everything. We’ll have a welcome happy hour for you tonight. If you need anything else, slack me! That’s our IM program.”

“I know what Slack is.”

He had only just finished setting up his email account and setting up his various profiles and systems when he heard a purse drop next to his chair. “Hi! Klaus, right? I’m Caroline.”

“Nice to meet you again,” he said, shaking her hand.

"You, too!" she said brightly, sitting down and jiggling her mouse to turn on her computer. "Let me just pull up some of the stuff I'm working on. I'll shoot you an email with it and we can get started."

"Alright."

"What's your email?"

"Klaus."

"Oh, you got a first name one?" Caroline asked, her eyebrows raised. "Nice."

"I suppose."

Her fingernails clicked on the keyboard as she composed the email, dragging a few documents into the body and hitting 'send'. They talked about the projects she was taking on and what she was hoping they could split, reaching to make a list of things to accomplish that day as they went through the tasks. He found herself becoming distracted by the shine of the gloss on her lips as she talked, of the way her fingers would wrap around the pen she was using. She seemed to notice once or twice, but he hoped that he was subtle enough that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

"Did Camille give you a walk through of the building?" Caroline asked once they were done, handing him the list, her fingers brushing against his when he took it.

"She did."

"Great! Let me know if you have any more questions or need any help."

"I doubt I will, but if I do, I won't hesitate to make use of your expertise."

"Well, I'm happy to help. You know, 'cause Augustine is a family and we support each other."

“So I’ve been told,” he said dryly, already hoping that his decidedly not-familial attraction to her would subside.

She looked around before leaning in conspiratorially. “That’s total bullshit. Never go to the non-mandatory happy hours,” she hissed.

He chuckled. “You seem rather saner than your compatriots.”

“Pretty sure they’re  _ our _ compatriots. Welcome to hell."

"Is it that bad?" he asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. Caroline leveled him with a look that made him certain that he was correct.

"Yep! Hayley—she sits next to you—is allergic to everything but doesn’t believe in medicine, so she sniffs  _ constantly _ .”

“How charming.”

“Sure is! She also has a Pomeranian named Jack she brings in sometimes who thinks everyone is his  _ best friend _ . And Damon sits all the way over there, but he eats chips all day and it’s loud so you’ll definitely be able to hear it. I also have to take a lot of work calls, so I know that can be distracting, but I try to keep it to a minimum if I can.”

"I see," he said warily, encouraged only by the small smile on Caroline's face. 

"You'll be fine," she promised.

He wasn't so sure.

* * *

"This happens  _ every  _ Thursday? Not just  _ some  _ Thursdays?" Klaus asked, his voice so low that Caroline could barely hear it over the strumming of the ukulele a few tables away accompanied by the giggling and chatter of their coworkers, along with Matthew Donovan, the ukulele owner, singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. 

"Yep," Caroline said tiredly, her eyes focused on her computer screen. "Every Thursday."

“Why would you do that?” Klaus asked, completely revolted.

“Do I  _ look  _ like I like ukulele jams?” Caroline asked, her eyebrows raised. “I hate it, but the CEO is twenty-nine and thinks they make the office culture more welcoming.”

“How does anyone get any work done?”

“Noise-cancelling headphones. Usually there are some in the monthly swag bags. I also suggest you don't interact with the dogs. If you pet them, they think you are friends."

She sounded so jaded that he almost felt sorry for her. She kept giving him helpful hints that were phrased as war stories, and it was rather concerning. "Out of curiosity, how long have you worked here?"

"It'll be a year in two weeks."

"You've been keeping count for how long you've survived?"

"Pretty much. I also started about a month after my birthday, and my birthday was two weeks ago, so, you know, math."

"Did you do anything special?"

"Will they make you do anything for your birthday, you mean?" Caroline asked knowingly. "Yeah. We do celebration happy hours. Usually they're just for your department, but since it was just me and Gen from finance back then, they made me go to a celebration happy hour with anyone in the company who wanted to go."

She could practically see the horror in his expression.

"You're not serious."

"Hundred percent am! It was a Friday, so most people got wasted. April, our social media manager, nearly puked in the girls' bathroom. They also threw a fit until I promised to make Tyler come so they could meet him, since like, you know, we're all 'family'," Caroline said tiredly, making air quotes around the last word.

Klaus frowned. "Tyler?"

"My boyfriend," Caroline said, giving Klaus a small smile, pretending she didn't see the slight raise of his eyebrows for just a moment before he covered it up. Hopefully he wouldn't stop being nice to her now that he knew he had no chance of getting into her pants. She was just starting to warm up to him.

She was relieved when he didn't seem at all perturbed. "And he went? I assume you've regaled him with many tails of our coworkers' collective lunacy."

She couldn't tell if he was joking, but he wasn't wrong.

Getting Tyler to come had been a week-long, completely thankless endeavor. She'd tried to explain to her coworkers over and over that Tyler was busy (true) and heavily implied that he was an introvert (patently false, but they were into Meyers-Briggs), but Camille had reserved a chair for him at the restaurant, and telling her that Tyler wasn't coming had been like talking to a brick wall.

In order to get him to agree, Tyler had to be given dozens of reassurances that it would only take a few hours, and even then he'd implied heavily that she could 'pay him back' with sexual favors, as though having him come had been her idea in the first place. As though he thought that sexual favors were supposed to be purely transactional in a relationship as opposed to fun, pretend transactions resulting in win-win situations. She wouldn't have pressed so hard if she hadn't known that putting her foot down would spend too much political capital, and she really,  _ really  _ wanted a raise at the end of the year. And that would benefit both of them! He wanted a new TV too, didn't he?

"Yep. And he complained the whole time," Caroline muttered, wincing even as she spoke when she realized how bitter her tone was. She'd known Klaus less than two weeks, and even though they got along pretty well so far, he didn't need to know any of her personal stuff, especially the bad personal stuff.

"I can see why," Klaus said with a hint of a teasing smile, though his tone commiserating. "I can't imagine that it would be any fun, even with your presence to make it a bit less grating."

She was saved from her decision on whether to call him out on his half-flirting when someone cleared their throat behind her. She knew who it was even before he spoke, the stench of his cologne already nearly making her gag. "Hey, Blondie."

"My name is Caroline," she said for what felt like the tenth time as she turned around. "Damon, I'm serious, I  _ will  _ go to HR about that. It's demeaning and sexist."

"Ooh,  _ sorry, _ " Damon said sarcastically, his hands up as though surrendering, though his sneer conveyed he was doing nothing of the sort. "Someone's snippy today."

"It's not 'snippy' to ask you to call her by her name, mate," Klaus said, his tone barely qualifying as polite. It was slightly comforting to know that it had taken Klaus less than two weeks to hate Damon almost as much as she did. Another point for the "Caroline has good gut feelings about applicants" scoresheet.

"It was just a joke."

"What do you want, Damon?" Caroline asked before the situation could escalate, already knowing that Klaus had a biting comment waiting to escape and wanting the interaction to be over as quickly as possible.

"Just have a question."

"Ask Klaus. I'm busy," Caroline said, turning around and ignoring Klaus's exasperated glare, Sure, they were both busy, but she had seniority. It was only fair to make Klaus take the annoying people, right?

She felt slightly bad about that call when she heard Damon's phenomenally stupid question about contract employee payroll, though she did her best not to laugh when she saw Klaus's expression out of the corner of her eye. Apparently it was starting to dawn on him that answering these sorts of things was going to be half his job for the foreseeable future. 

At least she had someone to suffer with now. When she'd lobbied Alaric to hire him it was partly because he seemed competent, but she could admit in the privacy of her own head that a large part of it was because she had a gut feeling they'd get along. Her job had been miserable for awhile, even if she made really good money, and she was hoping having a coworker she got along with would help. Over the last two weeks, she'd grown more sure that Klaus, though he seemed grumpy and definitely had a distinct lack of tact, was the sort of person that she could at least be work friends with. Maybe slogging through idiotic requests from coworkers and the general pandemonium that ensued around her desk on a daily basis was about to get easier.

One could only hope.

* * *

"Do you lot often do shots at work-sponsored happy hours?" Klaus asked, gesturing to their coworkers, who were taking turns doing shots and cheering.

"I mean,  _ I  _ don't," Caroline said, holding up her glass of wine to show him before taking a sip and setting it down. "But a lot of people do. This isn't even the worst of it. I'm sure that there will be a ton of drinking at the retreat next week."

"Ah, yes. Camille had mentioned. I don't think I'll be going."

Caroline raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Bold move. Are you planning to have a death in the family?"

"To get me out of a ropes course? I'm sure I could orchestrate something," Klaus joked, dimples cutting into his cheeks. "But no, I was simply hoping to just tell them I had plans."

Caroline's eyes widened, and she looked at him, her fingers spread on the bartop. "You're joking right?"

He seemed genuinely surprised by the question. "No? Why wouldn't I? I have no desire to be outdoors with coworkers, let alone sharing a hotel room with one." 

"So, a part of me wants to let you do that just to see what happens, but I don't hate you, so I'm going to do you a solid and give you a head's up: Do not do that."

Klaus looked amused. "Why? What're they going to do? Fire me?"

"What? No. They'll just screw you in every petty way possible. Do you  _ want  _ to end up with all of the worst conference rooms for meetings? For Aiden to constantly "forget" to order your favorite snacks for the kitchen?"

He snorted. "I fail to see how that would be much of an inconvenience. I have no doubt there would be a rebellion should we run out of KIND bars." 

A part of her wanted to just let him fail spectacularly, but that would impact her too, since they were the only people in the department. "Oh, that's just the start. I know you think it's stupid, but the three days of forest shenanigans will totally pay off in terms of quality of life here. Trust me."

"Forest  _ shenanigans _ ?" he asked, his lips twitching, tone lowering to become conspiratorial. "Do tell, what sorts of _ forest shenanigans _ do you all get up to on these retreats?"

She gave him a warning look. "Just a ropes course and some team-building stuff. Did you ever go to summer camp?"

"Can't say that I have. My siblings all did, so I have a general idea of what's involved. I've never heard of anything regarding team-building, however."

She was tempted to ask why not, but as nosey as she was, she did have  _ some  _ understanding of what was too personal a question. "Okay, well we do like, trust falls, and problem-solving games."

"Both of those sound horrid."

"I think that's the point," Caroline said, wrinkling her nose. "Like, you suffer together to get closer."

"Don't we already do that every day? I've lost count of the commiserating looks we've shared in the last few months."

She laughed. "I guess we're pretty close through shared hardship, yeah."

It only occurred to after she saw the grin he gave her that her words might have come across as flirty, and she was about to apologize when he spoke again. "Well, I suppose that I'll have to attend then, won't I? We're split up by department, correct?"

"Yep! You, me, and Gen are smushed in with marketing."

"Well then, hopefully your company will make it a bit less trying for me."

She fought down a blush, clearing her throat and taking another sip of wine. "I'll do my best, I guess," she said, searching for a change of subject. "You have siblings? How many?"

If Klaus was surprised at her clumsy topic switch he didn't show it, instead taking a sip of his brandy and setting it back down. "I have seven siblings."

"Seven?" Caroline repeated, incredulous. "Wow. That's a lot. Sorry. That was rude. I'm sure people must say that all the time."

"Not at all, love," he said easily, though he froze for a split second after the endearment left his lips, seeming to gather himself a moment later. She bit her lip, deciding not to comment. He was British right? That's normal for them. It was in all the movies! "Half of them still live in the U.K., but my younger sister and one of my younger brothers live here."

"Are you the oldest?"

He smiled slightly. "Just in the middle, actually. Four older and three younger. Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope! Just me. I have a step-sister, but I never lived with her. My dad and his partner live on the east coast, so I barely ever see them."

"An only child, then? Sounds wonderful."

"It was a little lonely, but there's definitely a big difference between no siblings and seven."

"To be fair, I don't remember Freya and Aaron living with us, and I was mostly out of the house by the time Henrik came along. I moved out when I was sixteen."

"Sixteen? Wow. Do you mind if I ask why? You don't have to tell me, obv--"

"I moved in with my biological father," Klaus said, interrupting her before she could babble, his gaze fixed entirely on the brandy he was swirling in his glass. "He was from New Orleans, so I got my citizenship papers and came to live with him."

She didn't know the appropriate response to that. "Did you like New Orleans?"

He smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Yes, I did. It was quite different from where I grew up. We were in a rather rural part of Wales, so the city was new to me, and I loved how full of life it was. Have you been?"

She shook her head. "I haven't really been anywhere. I basically got my job here right out of undergrad, and it's always so busy with just me in the department. I never really had a chance to take time off."

"Where did you go to school?"

"Berkeley. Tyler got a football scholarship and I got in too, and he just figured it would be best to go together. We figured, I mean."

Klaus's eyebrows shot up. "I see."

Ugh, she must be tipsier than she realized. She tried to shrug it off. "I mean, it worked out. We're happy here."

Klaus seemed dubious, but nodded. "So you've been dating since high school, then?"

"Yeah," Caroline said. "Seven years. Haven't broken up once!"

What used to sound like a declaration of just how solid her and Tyler's relationship was suddenly somehow felt like an admission that she was trapped. They'd been dating for what felt like forever. They'd even moved in together in their sophomore year of college, but then they'd hit a plateau, one that she'd desperately been trying to rip him off of for over a year. They'd talked about getting married ("Someday, obviously, Caroline, but it's not the right time") and whether they wanted kids eventually ("I know you'll come around to it, babe"), but it never seemed to become anything that wasn't purely theoretical. 

She drained the rest of her wine glass and set it back on the bar.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Caroline asked, needing to get the topic away from her imploding relationship. "Or a wife? Or boyfriend or husband? A non-binary partner?"

"None of those," he said, smiling slightly. "I had a girlfriend when I lived in New York, but we parted ways a few months before I moved here."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It was time. Neither of us could see anything long-term with each other."

"Still, though."

"I have no doubt that things will work out," he said, giving her a look that she was pretty sure the wine was making her think was too heated for a couple of coworkers at a happy hour. She cleared her throat.

"That's good."

He nodded. "What does Tyler do?"

"Like, for a job, you mean? He works for a brewery doing social media and graphic design stuff. He does freelance work too."

"I see."

"Yeah. He really likes it, so that's good. He's applying for another job at a bigger company and he's hoping they'll let him work from home as an employee. He doesn't like being a contractor. It makes him anxious."

Klaus hummed, taking another sip of his brandy. "And do you like what you do?"

Caroline raised her eyebrows. "Um, well since we're at a work function, I feel like I have to say yes."

"We're technically off work," Klaus pointed out.

Caroline gave him a look that she hoped conveyed that she was not at all impressed with his argument, but she answered anyway. "It's good, I guess. I make okay money and my work-life balance was bad for awhile, but now that you're here it's much easier."

"Well, you're welcome then," Klaus teased. 

"What about you? Is this your dream job?"

Klaus snorted. "Does anyone you know have a  _ passion _ for accounting? Are there people who wake up in the morning as teenagers and think to themselves, 'ah yes, my dream job is to explain how taxes work to fully grown adults with access to Google but somehow with no motivation to use it'?"

"I mean, I'm sure someone does."

"But I doubt it's you, and it's certainly not me," he drained the rest of his glass and motioned for the bartender. "Hey, mate, can I have another glass of this? And whatever my friend would like."

"Oh, Klaus, you don't have to--"

"I want to," he said. "But, if you want to make it fair, let's say I buy and you handle Damon's inevitable idiot questions tomorrow, hmm?"

She laughed. "That's a 'two glass of wine' favor, buddy."

"Done," he said, giving her a dimpled smile and turning back to the bartender. "Two of whatever she'd like."

"Klaus!" she complained, half-laughing.

"Miss?" the bartender prompted, and she sighed, shooting Klaus an exasperated glance. 

"Another of this pinot, please."

"Coming right up."

Once they each had another drink in hand, Caroline turned back to Klaus with another question. "Well, if this isn't your dream job, what is?"

"I paint in my spare time, so I suppose if I could make a living doing that, I would."

"Really? You paint?"

He nodded. "I do."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Mostly portraits. Studies. I minored in Studio Art. It's relaxing. What about you? If you could do something else, what would it be?"

"I wanted to be a journalist for a long time," she admitted. "I was originally going to major in it, but Tyler wanted to stay in the bay area, and the cost of living here is crazy. I needed to do something more lucrative and reliable."

"Makes sense, I suppose," he said. 

"Yeah. I guess in another life I could have been, but I'm happy with where I am now. I have a good job and friends. My work-balance is okay now that you're here. I can afford my own apartment and stuff..." she trailed off, shrugging. "I can't complain."

"Well, if there's one thing I can promise you, Caroline, I'm always here for you to complain to. It's only fair considering the massive amount of griping I do about our compatriots."

"You need to stop calling them 'compatriots'. I get that you talk all fancy and stuff, but it sounds too sophisticated."

"What would you suggest then, love?"

This time he didn't pause, and the word sounded much more normal coming out of his mouth. She felt flushed, like the alcohol was giving her a buzz. Maybe more people had come into the bar and it was getting warmer. "I think colleagues is a good compromise. Fancier than coworkers, so you don't have to feel like a peasant when you say the word, but not sophisticated enough to make Damon sound important."

"Peasant?" he asked, laughing. 

"You know, the common folk without the cute accents," she teased, her mouth snapping shut when she realized what she said, her cheeks flushing. "Sorry, that was so inappropriate."

"You can give me as many compliments as you like, Caroline. I'll never tire of having my ego stroked by such a charming colleague."

Caroline laughed, still kind of mortified, but thankful he was being cool about it and trying to break the tension by being overly solicitous. "Okay. If you're sure."

"Of course. Now, are we allowed to put appetizers on the company card? I normally don't indulge in greasy American nonsense, but I find myself craving some mozzarella sticks," he said, turning to grin at her. "Occasionally I do like peasant food."

She rolled her eyes, but obligingly pulled out her company card. "You'll get yours next week. I'll give you a 'Do's and Don'ts' packet."

"I'd expect nothing less," he teased.

It occurred to her later in the uber home that she might have shared too much, might have gotten a little too personal, but she doubted it would cause any complications. Caroline prided herself on keeping her life orderly and predictable. Everything had its place. Sure, it was possible that Klaus could migrate from "friendly coworker' to "coworker who was also a friend," but that was a totally normal thing. It happened all the time to other people, and the only reason it hadn't happened to her yet was because all of her coworkers sucked. 

Plus, Klaus hadn't seemed to mind that they'd shared things about their personal lives. He'd totally been his normal self the next morning, greeting her with a dimpled smile and informing her that he'd stolen her the last chocolate cashew bar from the kitchen, since their latest shipment hadn't come in yet. It was so nice to have a work friend who did thoughtful things like that. 

Just a guy and a gal being platonic work pals. Nothing wrong with that.

* * *

_ Hey everyone! _

_ Just a friendly reminder that if you write a check to the company, we cannot cash the check if you cross something out and write a new amount or name over it. You have to write us a new check.  _

_ Thanks! _

_ Caroline _

[klaus]: Who.

[cforbes]: I WILL GIVE YOU THREE GUESSES

[klaus]: Damon

[cforbes]: Sadly, no. Def a dick but not a COMPLETE moron. Try again.

[klaus]: Hayley

[cforbes]: DING DING DING

[klaus]: Why was she even writing a cheque?

[cforbes]: She put a personal expense on a company credit card by accident.

[klaus]: Why does she have a company card?

[cforbes]: There are questions so mysterious that even I, an all-knowing being, cannot answer them.

* * *

Klaus reached to grab Caroline around the middle as she teetered precariously on the edge of the platform they'd just ziplined to, pulling her back towards him. She let out a squeak of surprise, her arms windmilling frantically until she found her balance. "Sorry, love," he said, letting go as soon as she managed to right herself.

"It's fine. Thanks," she said, slightly out of breath. "Ugh, falling would have been so embarrassing."

"It would have," he agreed, grinning when she glared at him. "Just another two obstacles to go, and then we're done for the day."

She sighed, giving him a look that he associated with doctors on television about to inform a family that their loved one had died from an unknown disease, and he was suddenly uneasy. "Oh, it must be so nice to be a person who thinks that they let us go home after lunch. No, we will have lunch outside, and then they'll make us do team-building activities. Last time they made us split into teams and build "shelters" out of forest stuff, and whatever team made the best one got a pizza party when we got back."

Klaus stared at her, dumbfounded, and was only shaken back to reality when Damon called from the platform behind them that they needed to get moving so that he could use the zipline.

"Let's go," she said, brushing past him to get to the edge of the platform, where there was a tightrope, two other ropes above it to hold onto as you waled across. "I'll go first."

"Go ahead, love."

He watched as Caroline slowly stepped onto the rope, her hands reaching to grab the handholds above her, taking a tentative step forward. He did his best to keep his eyes away from her ass, the tight yoga pants hugging her frame perfectly, and mostly succeeded. Once Caroline was across, she hopped on the last ledge and turned around to motion him forward. He managed it much faster than she had, mostly using his arms to pull himself across rather than to put his weight on the rope.

The last thing they had to do was go down a ladder. It wasn't necessarily supposed to be an obstacle, but he'd noticed that Caroline had avoided looking down whenever possible and had been doing her best to do anything that was rickety slowly. "Don't take this the wrong way, love," he began as she reached out to tentatively press a toe to the top rung. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"Just a little," she said, giving him a small smile. "Like, I don't mind flying or anything, but if I'm on something that moves, like a ladder or a ferris wheel or whatever, I get nervous."

"I can go down first and spot you," he offered. She nodded, looking relieved and backing up slightly.

"That would be great."

He put his foot on the rung to test it before easily climbing down, jumping the last few rungs to land on his feet. He stood back slightly to see Caroline start to descend. The drop was about thirty feet, and the rope would catch her if she fell to make sure she didn't hurt herself, but he doubted she cared about that. He watched as she moved down slowly, baring his teeth at Damon when he saw him open his mouth after he arrived at the platform to find Caroline still working on the obstacle, satisfied when he didn't say a word.

He reached to steady her as soon as she got to the ground, earning a relieved smile before she walked to the ropes course instructor to get untied. "Thanks," she whispered as soon as they had left the course to go to the lunch tent. "I know it's stupid but--"

"It's not stupid," Klaus said immediately, reaching to touch her arm to reassure her without thinking about it. She seemed surprised for a second, but before he could apologize she just whispered a soft, 'Thanks', and then started talking about what kind of food they had last year, and that she hoped this year would be better.

He was fairly sure that he could listen to Caroline talk about the relative quality of steamed vegetables between the two ropes course retreats for hours.

He'd figured out he liked her ages ago. He'd been intrigued initially, but after talking at the bar for three or four hours the first time they'd gone to a work party together he'd been hooked. He enjoyed her sarcastic barbs and witty retorts, her willingness to banter with him and tease him mercilessly. He liked the softer side of her too, her empathy for others and her determination to defend people that she thought were worth it.

He wanted desperately to be worth that to her.

He had tried to remind himself that she had a boyfriend for the first few months every time he thought about her in any position other than sitting next to him fully clothed at work, but after the night at the bar he'd been trying less and less. She'd dropped hints from then on, usually in an offhand comment without meaning to. She'd talk about a minor disagreement they had, or mention that they were going on a date to something that Tyler wanted to see or do. She appeared to have accepted that her boyfriend would put his toddler foot down and refuse to do anything he didn't want to and convinced herself that his initiative was something that she valued, rather than something that he used to bulldoze her with. She was clearly miserable in her relationship, and though he knew that any normal person would likely disapprove of his plan to actively show her that he was a better option, especially since he was making a great deal of assumptions, he'd never been one to take the opinions of normal people into account.

Caroline deserved better. He knew that, and he wanted her to know it too. Showing her that she could trust him and that he'd support her had been a plan that already paid off immensely. They were closer at work now, sharing in-jokes and teasing each other as they completed their work. It was comfortable, comfortable enough that he occasionally forgot that they were surrounded by idiots, and he suspected that she often forgot as well.

He'd only pursue her if she broke up with Tyler and showed that she wanted him, and he had ever confidence that given enough time, that would be the result of whatever fiasco was ten seconds away from happening whenever Tyler did something particularly stupid.

And, from what Klaus had heard at least three times a week, Tyler seemed to do stupid things often and without reservations.

They chatted as they ate, Caroline talking about a movie she'd seen with her best friend Bonnie the weekend before, and he'd shared Rebekah's latest adventures in New York, and Kol's latest misadventures in Florida. He found that the way she laughed energized him, made him want to hear it as much as he possibly could.

It wasn't long until the group was escorted to the next activity, which involved making them all get in a circle in a clearing. Caroline stood across from him, sandwiched between Hayley and Damon, and he shared an exasperated look with her when Megan, their "Adventure Guide" began to prattle on about teamwork and goal-setting and trust exercises. He was mostly tuned out until he realized that she'd moved out of the circle, leaving them all looking at each other.

“Time for the human knot!” she said as she clapped her hands, her voice much too chipper for the occasion.

From the combination of the name and the look on Caroline’s face, he could tell that whatever activity that had been announced was bound to be unpleasant.

“Everyone make a circle and reach to grab someone else's hands," Megan said in a much too cheerful tone. "Make sure that you don't grab the same person's, so, to reiterate, everyone should be holding the hands of two  _ different _ people."

Klaus grimaced when Matthew Donovan's rather sweaty ukulele-playing palm pressed against his. He managed to grab Caroline with his other hand, knowing that she at least wouldn't give him any sort of skin-borne illness.

"Okay! Now, you're all going to work together to untangle yourselves. The only rule is that you can't let go of each other to do it. Sometimes you'll need to make circles for people to step through or hold your selves to the ground for people to move over you. It's all part of the fun! Any twister-style acrobatics are A-Okay!"

Seven grueling minutes later, he and Caroline had been disentangled to the point where they could comfortably stand next to each other to watch all of their coworkers argue. "Requiring employees to do this should be a crime," he grumbled, smiling slightly at Caroline's returning groan of commiseration.

"I know. At least we get paid for it, I guess."

"I can't believe I let you talk me out of faking sick, love."

"I needed an ally."

He laughed quietly. "If I'd known you were manipulating me I might've left you to waste away on the platform," he teased, grinning unrepentantly at Caroline's returning glare.

"You wouldn't. You like me too much," she said, bumping his shoulder with hers.

He knew it had been intended as a joke, but he couldn't help the words that came out of his mouth, said much more sincerely than he'd meant them to be. "I do."

Caroline looked at him, her lips slightly parted, and he wondered whether her skin was flushed from the heat of the sun or because of what he'd said. Before he could ask, Adventure Guide Megan had announced that the knot had been detangled and they were on to trust falls. Caroline groaned, walking over to where Megan had indicated, grumbling about how she wouldn't trust any of these people to use a fax machine even with instructions. He couldn't help but agree.

It wasn't until they were separated into different, smaller groups that he realized that until that moment she hadn't dropped his hand.

* * *

[klaus]: Has anyone ever gotten any substantive and/or useful information from an all hands?

[cforbes]: like, in the history of the world? no.

[klaus]: It's ridiculous.

[klaus]: No purpose, whatsoever.

[cforbes]: i mean it's basically just so Ric can talk for four hours to a captive audience about whatever he wants.

[cforbes]: in the one the month before you came he literally talked for a full ten minutes about game of thrones. 

[cforbes]: he made me work late so that i couldn't go home and watch it and then he SPOILED IT FOR ME THE NEXT DAY

[klaus]: That's rather rude of him.

[cforbes]: YEAH IT FUCKING WAS

[cforbes]: """RUDE"""

[cforbes]: BY THAT I THINK YOU MEAN SOCIOPATHIC

[klaus]: Why do we even have them?

[klaus]: At my old company we just sent emails and memorandums. There was no need to require everyone from the CEO to reception to join a conference call.

[cforbes]: ok boomer

* * *

"What are you working on?" Caroline asked, sinking down beside Klaus and handing him the latte she'd brought him before dropping her purse next to her chair, peering over his shoulder as she peeled off her gloves and began to unwind her scarf. She'd run late that morning, and she figured it was only fair to buy him some caffeine. She knew his coffee order anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

"Thank you, love," he said, taking a sip and making a soft moan that sent a shiver down her spine. Jesus.  _ Someone  _ had been craving their caffeine. "Alaric asked me to get together a list of expenses and try to figure out if there's anything we can actually cut without inciting a revolt."

Caroline winced. "Yikes. Got any good ones?"

"None that won't get me murdered for suggesting them. We could suggest cutting down on free lunch."

"Nope. We'll die."

"Snacks."

"Also certain death."

"We could make people pay for their own parking permits."

Caroline snorted. "Yeah. That'll work out."

"Well, do you have any ideas?"

She ran a hand through her hair, trying to think. "I mean, honestly we'll have to take away something people like no matter what. It's kind of a losing battle trying to figure out what people will be the least mad about. We should just do whatever's most efficient."

"That's what I told Alaric," Klaus said grumpily. 

"I mean, it's what makes sense."

Klaus sighed, leaning back and rolling his shoulders, likely having been staring at the spreadsheet for quite awhile before she'd arrived. "I just don't understand why the snack budget has to be so high. It's not as though we'll all spontaneously burst into flames if we have less expensive protein bars."

"Hey, you know I like those," Caroline argued. "And if you actually got us to stock those awful flaxseed crackers you like, I'm sure that you'd be annoyed at the prospect of the snack budget being cut too."

"I'd just bring my own," Klaus said before leaning closer. his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "And then we wouldn't have to hear Damon crunching on chips all day."

She felt a flutter in her chest at his tone, the way he glanced at her. Slyly, like they were talking about something exciting and secret, something more than poking fun at Damon's habits as they poured over a stupid excel spreadsheet and budgeting plans. It had been so long since she'd felt that kind of rush, one that came with slightly shaky hands and resisting the urge to bounce on the balls of her feet.

The second she realized what it meant, she felt the guilt hit her, the crushing squeeze of it in her stomach.

"I'll be right back," she said abruptly, trying to keep her tone casual and smoothing her skirt as she stood, rushing to the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall, leaning against the door and taking a few deep breaths.

She  _ liked  _ Klaus. God, she liked  _ Klaus _ .

She should have realized it when they had that conversation at the happy hour. They'd shared food. He'd asked her questions about her life, her hopes and dreams, and had opened up to her about his past. She'd felt so comfortable with him, and she'd even had to justify their conversation to herself on the way home. Why hadn't she seen that red flag? And even if she hadn't then, she definitely should have when they were doing the stupid ropes course. She hadn't felt weird about partnering with him at all, hadn't minded that his hands lingered on her waist, had enjoyed the banter they had. She'd let him 'spot' her more than was probably necessary, had flirted with him  _ in public _ . On a  _ work trip _ .

How could she have let this happen? Sure, things weren't exactly  _ great  _ with Tyler, but they'd been dating for years. Everyone had rough patches, right? So what if theirs had been rough for the last year and a half? Not that she was counting.

Maybe she and Tyler just needed to have a real conversation about what wasn't working. Sure, he hadn't always been great at communicating, but he'd gotten better at it over the years. She'd just raise her concerns and they'd talk about it. Maybe they could spice up their sex life a bit, too. She'd think about it.

* * *

_ Hello, _

_ This is a reminder that the company will not cover pet-sitting expenses when you’re on company travel. Please plan accordingly. _

_ Best, _

_ Klaus _

[cforbes]: If you don’t start saying ‘friendly reminder’ or adding a smiley in your emails people will think you’re a jerk.

[klaus]: I am a jerk, sweetheart.

[cforbes]: Or like, use an ending that’s not ‘best’

[klaus]: what, exactly?

[cforbes]: Warmly?

[cforbes]: Sincerely?

[klaus]: I am neither warm nor sincere.

[cforbes]: Cheers?

[klaus]: No.

[cforbes]: Regards seems up your alley.

[klaus]: Anyone who submits a receipt to me for a new blazer because they ‘wouldn’t have had to buy one if they weren’t working’ does not deserve my regards.

[klaus]: One of them asked me how to write a cheque.

[klaus]: We are the only adults here.

[cforbes]: first of all

[cforbes] CHECK

[cforbes]: And second

[cforbes]: You don’t get to be like, “grrr millennials are so entitled”

[cforbes]: “with their GADGETS AND GIZMOS APLENTY”

[klaus]: They are.

[cforbes]: “And lack of common sense!!”

[cforbes]: Omg Klaus. You’re like 30.

[cforbes]: Shut up

[klaus]: I may be wrong but I believe you’re creating what the teens call a “hostile work environment”

[cforbes]: boo hoo, snowflake

[cforbes]: do you want anything from Starbucks?

* * *

"Headed out, love?"

Caroline nodded as she packed up her things, zipping up her laptop bag and starting to wrap her scarf around her neck. “Yeah. I haven’t been around much, so I thought I’d go home early and surprise Tyler. If I leave right now I'll get home by 7:30 and it'll be early enough to get food delivered that I actually like.”

“Is he still working from home?”

“Yeah. I think being at home all the time wasn't what he thought it would be,” she said, trying not to sound too annoyed. Tyler tended to be messier when he had more time to be messy, something she was solidly not a fan of, nor was she shy about expressing her lack of fondness for it, and the state of the apartment when she came home had been the subject of many arguments. Hopefully a little more time together would improve things and make her less short-tempered. Or something.

She had been trying not to be too obvious about how much faster her relationship was tanking since she'd started to have feelings for Klaus. It had always been obvious to her that Klaus had never liked Tyler. She tried to tell herself that it was because whenever she talked about him it was to complain, but she knew it was because she never really had anything positive to say. There wasn’t a reason to give Klaus more ammunition to use to gently hint that Tyler was an ass. She already knew that, and she loved him anyway. Mostly.

Or she was trying to, anyway.

Something indiscernible flashed across Klaus’s face for a moment, but it disappeared just as quickly, and he swallowed, glancing back at the spreadsheet he’d been working with. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Bye,” she said, trying to keep the confusion off her face. Had they had plans and she forgot, or something?

She tried to put it out of her mind on the drive home, the traffic lighter than usual because it was before rush hour but still too slow for her liking. It wasn’t long before she was pulling into her assigned space in their parking complex and hurrying to the elevator, hoping that some good old-fashioned quality time would help her good mood.

“Hey, I’m home!” Caroline called, smiling at Tyler’s slightly muffled greeting from their bedroom and letting her purse drop to the floor, pulling off her heels and wriggling her toes against the carpet.

Her boost in mood lasted approximately three seconds, dying as soon as she walked in the kitchen and saw the dirty plate on the counter, brown sauce dripping from the lip of it onto their granite countertop.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Seriously, Tyler?”

She heard the rustle of blankets and Tyler’s heavy footsteps approach, even more annoyed when his posture relaxed as soon as he saw what she was mad about.

“Sorry, Care. I forgot.”

“Tyler, we literally just talked about this! How hard is it to rinse off your dishes and put them in the dishwasher?”

“Well--”

“Not hard!” she cut him off exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air. “Not hard at all. It takes like, two seconds max.”

“I don’t get why it’s such a big deal. I was going to do it later.”

“But I asked you to do it as soon as you finished so that the sauce wouldn’t get all crusty and also so that you  _ wouldn’t forget _ .”

“If I’m supposed to be the one rinsing the dishes, shouldn’t I be the one who cares if the sauce gets crusty?”

“I mean, in theory yes, but since you haven’t been doing the dishes, I have to worry about it,” Caroline said with forced patience, knowing she was getting a bit snippy and trying to rein it in so that Tyler wouldn’t get defensive.

“Well I’ll try to remember.”

“Don’t try. Do remember,” she bit out. “Can you rinse off your dish now?”

“I’m busy. I’ll do it in a bit.”

Caroline blinked and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Everything was weighing down on her. She was stressed, her sixty hour work weeks were becoming more frequent. She was tired and frustrated and had been trying her best not to take it out on Tyler, but it was hard. “Can you just do it now? Please? So that I know you have and don’t have to ask again?”

“Yeah,” he said, clearly sensing her mood and deciding to drop it. “Also we’re out of paper towels, just so you know.”

“Okay,” Caroline said slowly, deciding to ask the obvious question even if she’d bet her entire savings account that she already knew the answer. “And did you go to the store to pick more up?”

“Oh, I thought you’d just go today when you went out for groceries,” Tyler said with his back to her, rinsing the dish.

Somehow that was worse than the simple ‘no’ she was expecting, and she felt her eyes heat, tears of frustration building quickly, and she swallowed them down, knowing her breathing was quickening and trying not to get too worked up. “I’m not going for groceries today.”

She watched as Tyler bent to put the plate in the dishwasher, laying it face down on the top rack and starting to close the door, and in that moment she truly wanted to kill him.

“You’re doing it wrong!” she snapped. “Put it on the bottom rack on its side in the little spoke things. I know you know how to use a dishwasher. You’re not six.”

“God, Caroline...”

“Are you mad at  _ me _ right now? Seriously?”

“Yeah. You’re being kind of rude.”

“I asked you to do one thing, Tyler! One thing!”

“Yeah and you get mad at me every time I do it.”

“I shouldn’t have to teach you how to do it!”

“Then how else am I supposed to know?”

“I don’t know, Tyler. Google it?”

“I can’t believe you’re so mad about this. They’re just fucking dishes, Caroline. You said it takes two seconds so I don’t know why if you care so much you can’t just--”

“Don’t finish that sentence because if you do I might actually rip your spine out,” Caroline advised through gritted teeth. “Seriously.”

“Why, because you know I’m right and you’re mad?”

“Oh my god, Tyler. I--” she took a deep breath, too enraged to give in again. To calm him down. To spare his feelings when he clearly didn’t give a single shit about hers. “No. You know what? Get out.”

“What?” he asked, his eyebrows raising almost to his hairline.

“Get out,” she repeated, contemplating going for a walk so that she wouldn’t have to see his face for a few hours. “I can’t do this.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Tyler asked.

She froze. She hadn’t meant to imply that, hadn’t really thought about how the words would come out, but honestly she should have. She should have done it a long time ago. “Yes,” she said flatly. “Yes. I’m breaking up with you.”

“About dishes?” Tyler yelled. “You’re breaking up with me about  _ dishes _ ?”

“It’s not about the dishes, Tyler!” She knew she was raising her voice, knew that the neighbors would probably be pissed off and leave a passive-aggressive sticky note in the morning, but honestly she didn’t particularly care. “It’s about you and how you don’t care about me enough to follow through on your promises.”

“Of course I care about you! You’re my girlfriend.”

“If you cared about me you’d do the dishes! And like, pick up paper towels from the store when you knew we were out. And pick your towels up off the floor. And go grocery shopping.”

“How am I supposed to know when we need groceries?”

“When you look in the fridge and  _ we don’t have eggs  _ for your dumb _ protein smoothies _ ! Oh my  _ god _ .”

“Fine. I’ll leave.”

“Good!” Caroline spat. “Go. Just text me where you’re staying and I’ll ship everything over.”

“How do I know you’ll do it and not like, donate it or sell it or something?”

“Don’t worry, I promise taking your boxes of high school sports trophies and clearance rack art supplies to the post office will be the last errand I run for you. Get out.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, to argue more, but he just glared at her and left.

She expected to want him to come back, to want to run after him or something. She expected to be feel heavy.

Instead, she felt lighter. Better.

Free.

She sat there for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, breathing deeply and letting the quiet sink in before getting up to text Bonnie, already planning a girl’s night and some trash talk before remembering that her friend was camping (ew!!) with her boyfriend.

She stared down at her phone screen for a few seconds, debating her options. She knew who she  _ really  _ wanted to talk to, but who knew if Klaus was up for the sort of more-than-work friendship that involved talking about her personal life. Sure, they'd talked about it before, but after she'd realized she had feelings for him she'd tried to keep personal life topics to stuff that wasn't  _ too  _ personal. Trashing Tyler to him would definitely be over the line of unprofessional, even if she and Tyler had really been over for longer than she wanted to admit. Was the fact that she knew that she kind of liked Klaus impacting her judgment? Was she going to go into this subconsciously wanting a rebound?

What if Klaus didn't even like her? If he'd just been being nice?

Against her better judgment, she typed out the message a few times, deleting it and then restarting before finally settling on something less specific and hitting ‘send’.

[Caroline]: You were right.

She saw the three dots pop up almost immediately.

[Klaus]: No words I like to hear more from you, love.

[Klaus]: May I ask why?

[Caroline]: Tyler and I broke up.

The three dots popped up and then disappeared for a few seconds, and she worried that she’d gotten too personal too fast, that she’d misread after all, but the message he sent made her entire body relax.

[Klaus]: What a wanker.

[Klaus]: I’m sorry, love.

[Caroline]: I’m not.

Even as she hit 'send' she knew it was true.

[Klaus]: Good.

She smiled.

[Caroline]: I need like, eighty drinks though.

[Klaus]: I happen to have a full bar, if you’re interested.

[Klaus]: I should be home around eight.

[Caroline]: A full bar.

[Caroline]: Of course you would.

[Caroline]: Can't say I'm complaining though. I'll be there around 8:15.

[Caroline]: Address?

[Caroline]: And thanks, Klaus. Seriously.

Caroline copied it into Klaus's contact information and took a deep breath, staring around her at the mess Tyler had managed to build up, at all the remnants of her old life that she was ready to pack up and send off.

She was  _ ready. _

* * *

"I'm honored that I'm the liquor cabinet you've chosen to drown your sorrows with, sweetheart."

Caroline huffed. "I'm not drowning my sorrows. We've been over forever. I just didn't want to admit it."

"I'm sorry, love."

"Don't be. It's fine."

He gave her a look that indicated that he didn't believe her before pouring her another glass of brandy. "You must be at least a little bit upset."

She sighed, leaning back in the chair she was sitting in and drawing her legs to rest underneath her, trying to figure out what to say. "I mean, I'm sad that it took me this long, I guess," she said honestly, rushing on when Klaus looked like he was about to argue. "Look, we've been dating since we were sixteen. I'm twenty-four now. We went through a ton of life changes together, and at some point we just became different people, you know?"

"I suppose."'

She sighed. "It's basically been over since I got my job. Not necessarily that I wasn't around as much, though my work-life balance wasn't exactly awesome. It was more about how he reacted to it. We'd basically been living off his parents' money and the money from my part-time job, and then I suddenly made six figures if you included my bonus and he was still trying to find freelance work. And like, I expected him to be happy because we had money, but instead he was super weird about it because he wanted to 'provide' or whatever," she said, her words starting to come out faster now that she had started, now that she really felt like she  _ could  _ start. "So he was upset about that, and then I wasn't around as much and he was home, so I expected him to pick up slack around the apartment because I was working all day, and he didn't. He would say things like that he didn't know how to use the dishwasher or that I just 'did things better' so it made sense for me to do it, and it was infuriating."

"I can imagine."

Caroline let out a hollow laugh, taking another sip of her drink before continuing. "So I was working fifty or sixty hour weeks and he was doing freelance here and there, which you know, that's  _ work _ , I'm not saying it's not, but it's work that let him work from home and take care of things that I didn't have time for, and he just wouldn't. So like, today I came home and the dishes weren't clean and we were out of things and he just said that he didn't know how to do them. Like, even though I showed him a million times he just didn't care enough about me to learn. And it was just the last straw. Because it  _ sucks _ . It really, really sucks. I've just been so scared of losing our relationship. Tyler was my first boyfriend, so he's the only relationship I've ever had, and I've never not been with him, you know? I knew it was over. I just didn't want to pull the plug because I was scared." She realized abruptly that there were tears in her eyes, and she wiped them away, letting out a sharp breath. "Sorry. I'm not....it's not that I'm sad. I'm just frustrated. I'm over Tyler. I really am. I'm just not over how I let myself throw away years of my life because I was so scared of change."

Klaus nodded, setting his glass down on the coffee table. He'd been watching her calmly through her rant, had made small noises to show he was listening, had watched her as though she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. It was so nice to have someone care about how she felt and what she wanted. She'd thought a lot about whether Klaus just looked good to Tyler by comparison, whether what was enticing about him was the way he listened and the way he looked at her, but she'd come to the conclusion after some hard conversations with herself that she didn't just want to be heard, she wanted to be heard by Klaus. She wanted Klaus's smile and his sense of humor and his muttered comments about coworkers and his thoughtfulness and just...him. She wanted him.

"Beg pardon?"

He was looking at her like she'd just said something insane, and it took her brain a few sluggish seconds to realize she'd said the last part out loud. Well, not the time to chicken out. "I want you," she repeated. "I like you, Klaus."

He looked pained for a second, an expression she hadn't anticipated would be the one he'd wear after that confession. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--"

"Don't apologize, sweetheart," he said immediately. "I fancy you as well."

"You do?"

"You sound so surprised."

"Should I not be?

He laughed quietly. "I don't think I've ever been more obvious about my interest in someone in my life."

She bit her lip, trying to remember all of their interactions, flushing when she realized that the remembered coffee orders and the smuggled candy bars and him offering to take her worst projects after her and Tyler fighting basically spelled "I LIKE YOU" in neon letters. "I guess I did know. Sort of." She swallowed. "So? Do you want...you know. To go out with me? In a date way?"

"Are you sure?" he asked. He'd always been easy to read for her, but his nervousness was even more obvious than it would have been in any other situation. He didn't often let his feelings show nakedly on his face, but for her he was.

Or maybe it was the liquor.

"Yeah," she said, frowning, shifting in the chair. "Why? Aren't you?"

"Of course," he said immediately, reaching from his position on the edge of the couch to grab one of her hands, lacing their fingers together. "Caroline, it pains me to say this, really it does, but you've just broken up with Tyler and you're not entirely sober. I don't want you to offer something you'll regret."

"I won't regret it, Klaus. I've liked you for a long time."

"I know," he said, grinning at her returning pout.

"What do you mean you  _ know _ ?"

"I mean that I've noticed. And, as I said, I fancy you as well. More than a bit, to be honest."

"So you will go out with me or you won't?"

He gave her an apologetic look, squeezing her hand before letting it go. "Sorry, love. Trust me, I'd like nothing more than to be with you. I just want you to be sober to enjoy me showing you how much."

She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing at the heat in his eyes as he looked at her. She swallowed. "Okay. How about I let you know tomorrow morning."

"Perfect. Assuming that your answer is yes, perhaps I could take you out to dinner after work?" he offered.

“Oh no, that’s during happy hour,” Caroline teased. "Are you sure you're willing to ditch everyone for me?"

“For you, Caroline? I suppose I can miss out.”

She grinned at the warmth in his expression, feeling lighter, happier, than she had in a long time. She reached out to check the time, wincing when she saw that even though she'd left her (and previously Tyler's) apartment just after eight o'clock, the hour was already in single digits. "I should get home."

"I suppose you should," he said, standing and reaching out to help her up. "But we'll talk tomorrow morning. And Caroline, if you do change your mind, if you need more time, that's not a problem."

She didn't bother to fight down the bright smile she gave him, the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the words. It felt nice to be cared for, to be reassured. "Sounds like a plan," Caroline said, kissing him impulsively on the cheek and turning to grab her phone from her purse. "I'll order an uber and be out of your hair in a few minutes."

"No, I'll get it for you," Klaus said, his phone already in his hand. "What's your address, love?"

She shook her head. "No, you won't. This isn't a date. You can get it tomorrow after dinner."

"As the lady wishes," he said, giving her a dimpled smile.

* * *

He did not buy her an uber after dinner, but he did drive her back to her apartment the next morning.

* * *

Klaus no longer regretted not reading the job description.

  
  



End file.
